Pearl News

Pearl News

Melvin Baldwin's World 2.0

The Waukegan, IL native has already made a name for himself playing with artists such as Gerald Albright, Roy Ayers, Helen Baylor, Oteil Burbridge, Cherrelle, Will Downing, Eric Essix, Dionne Farris, Erskine Hawkins, Edwin Hawkins, David Ryan-Harris, Rohn Lawrence, Ronnie Laws,Trey Lorenz, Maysa Leak, Brian McKnight, Alexander O'neal, Francine Reed, The Indigo Girls, Kim Waters, Kirk Whalum, Johnny Gill, BBD, and Victor Wooten. He also performs and records with his own band, Three5Human in addition to lending his production skills with various artists.

Melvin spoke with us about his new gig, new kit, and his many years as a Pearl Artist.

On getting the gig: "It's definitely a blessing to get the Justin Bieber gig. It kind of came out of nowhere. I was contacted on one day, submitted a video and was pretty much on the gig the next day. My first performance with Justin was The Oprah Winfrey Show with only a run through rehearsal the day before taping (talk about stress). Since then, we have taped The Ellen DeGeneres Show, performed on a radio show in San Diego, a concert in Los Angeles and I am writing this backstage in Berlin, Germany as we prepare for a show this evening. I am looking forward to the Summer tour and working with Justin, the band, and crew for as long as they'll have me."

On the Reference Series Drums: "Since the first time that I played a Reference Series kit, I was sold. I think that Pearl really set the benchmark of drums by introducing this series. Recently, I got to really live with a Reference kit when I was in Japan with the Heads of State. The drums tuned up effortlessly, looked stunning, and were rock solid through 16 nights of hard hitting. And of course, they sounded amazing! Not only did the band compliment them, but the engineers were in awe as well. I will be playing a Granite Sparkle finish kit on Justin's tour and I am looking forward to seeing it under great lighting and hearing it over a massive P.A. Pearl has definitely hit a homerun with the Reference Series."

On my years Pearl: "I first came on board with Pearl 15 years ago while touring with Dionne Farris. I was a fan then and I am still crazy about Pearl drums and hardware now. It has been a pleasure working with the staff over these years. I can't imagine playing any other drums!"

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